Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I clasped my hands, closed my eyes, and waited. 

“Diane Casper.” Garek’s voice boomed, and my eyes went wide open. Shock palpitated through my body, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. 

No.

My sister’s face loosened in a smile as she climbed up the small stairs to join Garek on the stage. 

“Diane has been a great source of support to me. When I faced a recent setback,” he glanced at his father. “She gave her all to help me.” Garek was looking so carefree in a way he’d never been with me. And I just noticed that. Diane and Garek…together. A sharp pang shot through my heart. I was such a fool. A big fool. Garek’s eyes met my misty ones, and a smirk teased his lips. He did this on purpose. 

“Before we receive the Alpha’s blessings, there’s something else I have to announce,” Diane’s voice rang clear, effectively placing a ban on the guests’ loud chatter. 

“There’s a traitor in our midst. A werewolf with no inner wolf, and a curse on her head.” She went on, and several heads turned in my direction. My brows puckered. What the hell was she up to?

“She tried to seduce my mate and disrupt the alliance between our packs.” She finished off and I gasped. Those were my lines. She was the one who seduced Garek. 

“Cursed betrayer,” I heard someone say, and I swallowed down nothing. My throat hurt from hours of going without eating anything tangible. I longed for the cooling taste of water. Some fruit juice. Just anything. 

Seducing another werewolf’s mate was an unpardonable offense. How dare she accuse me of such a crime?

“Do you plead guilty?” My father asked, and my head shot up. 

“No!!! I didn’t do–” 

“Then how do you explain this?” Diane held up an earring, and asked. 

My breath caught in my throat, my hand automatically going up to touch my right ear. No earring. 

Shit. 

It must’ve fallen down during the ritual back at the cave. I glared hard at Garek, willing him to die. He betrayed me. He had the guts to betray me after all I’d done for him. 

“Go on, Terri. Confess. It is an order.” My father said again, holding onto his staff of authority and stretching it towards me. The heat from his staff burned through my chest to my back and it took all the willpower I had not to scream in pain. My chest tightened. How was I supposed to confess what didn’t happen?

‘What’s happening, Terri?’ Molniya’s panicked voice flowed through our bond, her panic assailing my senses. 

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle. Go to sleep.’ I tried to comfort her. 

‘What is your father doing? Tell me. I can speak to his wolf.’ She tried again. 

‘Don’t.’ My eyes widened. My father, heck no one in the pack knew that I had bonded with an inner wolf. I wasn’t going to ruin that now. She went silent. Thankfully. 

Red wolves, yellow, green, blue, brown, gray, white, and black. A list from the lowest to the highest. No one had bonded with a black inner wolf in the entire werewolf race for generations. Even my father—the Alpha of StarClaws pack—was bonded with a gray werewolf. A fact which he prided himself over. 

And me? I was bonded to Molniya—a black wolf. 

“I didn’t do it!!!! Garek, tell them,” I turned pleading eyes towards my supposed mate and begged. His gaze remained stoic and my stomach sank. “Please.” I whispered. 

“The evidence isn’t in your favor, Terri.” My father called out slyly. He loved this. I’d be surprised if he didn’t. 

I bowed my head and remained silent, but my sister and Garek weren’t done. 

“She tried to force herself on him.” Diane announced and the chatter in the hall grew louder. 

“Kill her! Kill her!” Someone called out from behind. 

“Her punishment has already been decided.” My father gripped his staff tightly, and it glowed a bright red. “I’m sending her to Errendor as our offer of peace.” 

No. No. No.

‘Terri?’ Molniya gasped, probably feeling my rage. 

I couldn’t reply. My nose flared. Errendor. I let myself think. There was no werewolf who wasn’t afraid of the only rogue pack that had reigned for years. A pack filled with bloodthirsty and war-hungry werewolves. 

“But they’re our enemies. We shouldn’t be negotiating with them.” Someone argued.

An unintentional shiver ran down my spine at the thought. Errendor hated us. Sending me there was like delivering raw meat to a carnivore. I’d be devoured in an instant. 

Raw unfiltered annoyance brewed within me and my chest heaved fast. I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breath. To calm myself down. It didn’t work. Instead, my powers grew more uncontrollable, threatening to burst if I showed even the tiniest outlet to it. 

“From tonight henceforth, I condemn you, Terri Casper, as a traitor of the pack. Any member of the pack is granted permission to kill you on sight.” He said. Garek stepped forward.

“And I, Garek Ryder, hereby reject you as my mate. Your seduction didn’t work.” He mocked.

My powers trembled, and with a loud yell, I let them erupt. Let them all burn. At that point, I gave no damn. I heard the sharp rumble from the ceiling as a part of it caved in. The ground trembled, and the pillars around shook. Yet my powers showed no signs of slowing down. I managed a quick glance around, and saw that everyone's eyes were widened in fear. Their lips visibly shook, and I took calm steadying breaths. In. Out.

“What is happening?” Someone asked loudly in a voice that betrayed his panic. 

Above the chaos, I heard my father’s words clearly. “That is the first sign of a rogue, and the main reason why I’m very glad to give her up as a treaty offer. Terri Casper has gone rogue.” He announced. 

Fuck. 

I’d given him exactly what he wanted. A proof to sentence me publicly. Seducing another werewolf’s mate wasn’t enough reason to send me to Errendor. But going rogue, was.

I hadn’t gone rogue. But I had no evidence. Not after I almost destroyed the hall, almost killing the occupants within. 

“A rogue?” Someone gasped from behind me.

“Yes. A rogue.” My father sneered. 

I decided I had heard enough. Fighting my way through my blurry vision, I stumbled out of the hall into the dark night. I soon found a spot, a quiet place that I’d always gone to whenever I was berated by my father in the past. It was a hidden sanctuary, far from the prying eyes of the others, and surrounded by trees. Away from everybody, I finally sank to the ground and let the tears pour out in torrents. 

“Why?” I whispered, feeling something clog at the back of my throat. “He loved me. Garek loved me, and then he…” I paused, and hiccuped. 

I was an idiot. I thought I had evaded the witch’s curse. I thought I had found my fated mate. But it was all a joke right from the beginning. The witch was probably mocking me from her grave. 

Taking in a mouthful of air, I opened my mouth again and screamed. Anger, pain, self-scorn. I grabbed at my dress, balling the fabric into my hands, and heaving. My breaths came out in shaky pants. 

A gloved hand suddenly appeared in my line of vision, and I raised my head to see a young man. I couldn’t see his facial features clearly, but he was tall. Embarrassed at the fact that I was found crying, but I tried to get up. 

“It’s the mating ceremony. Why are you here by yourself?” He asked, and I forced a smile.

“I don’t care much for crowds.” I said, lowering my head. Silence passed for a minute.

“You don’t also care for a mate?” He asked, and I reacted like I’d been stung. 

“I appreciate your questions, but mind your business.” I said, trying not to be rude. 

Footfalls echoed just then, and I pushed off the ground, eyes widened. 

“I have to go,” I said. 

Through the moonlight, I saw him flash me a ghost of a smile. “We’ll meet again.”

I didn’t turn. 

The hall remained just the way it was, before I ran out. I’d barely taken five steps in, when two guards caught my shoulders and dragged me to the middle of the room.  

“Alpha Marcus,” a voice called out, and I had the urge to look up, but decided against it. For some reason, the voice sounded familiar.

Everywhere was quiet, and no one could deny the fear that was currently permeating around the hall. An undeniable aura of authority and danger surrounded the men that’d just arrived. Even my father’s aura didn’t come close.

Rogues.

Their abilities were enhanced by their rumored internal madness. ‘Cause that was what they were. Mad beings driven by power-lust. 

“It’s an honor to have you here, Alpha.” My father beamed, but I could hear the insincerity in his voice. And the fear.

“Which is the treaty offer?” The same man who’d spoken earlier asked again. Against my better wishes, I raised my head, my eyes directly meeting his. My lips parted in a silent gasp, and my throat went drier than before. Despite my father’s allegations against me, I had never seen a rogue before now. And I wasn’t really sure about what I’d expected them to look like, but the man in front of me—who looked to be their leader, or not—was anything but rogue-looking. His white hair went up in slight wavy spikes, his eyebrows white, and his skin dark. 

I let my gaze wander down his perfectly toned body, if his chest that was peeking through his gray and white tunic was any evidence. Emerald green eyes met mine, and I courageously held the stare. 

“We meet again.” He said, and my eyes widened.

He…

He was the man I just saw in the forest.